Archaic Echoes
by todd fan
Summary: One shot! Set after the WWII sequence in Operation Rebirth. Kiddie Magsie!


Archaic Echoes

By Todd Fan

Disclaimer: "You've got guts, kid! And you've got spunk! Not to mention moxy! You've got guts, spunk, and moxy!"

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Uh oh, it's another one of my random one-shots. I was watching Operation Rebirth when this beauty popped into my head. It's set roughly about an hour or so after the events of Logan's flashback to Poland in Operation Rebirth.

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**Poland 1944**

"We're here, Logan"

Logan blinked from where he'd been staring out of the window of the truck he'd been travelling in to look over at the man sitting next to him. Steve Rogers, known to most as Captain America smiled.

"You were miles away"

"Sorry", he said as the truck pulled to a stop, "just thinkin'"

"You can't save the whole world in a day, Logan", said Steve, as if reading his thoughts, "we did good work at Auschwitz today" (1)

He looked at Logan.

"But why do you want to visit this DP Camp?", he asked, "we don't normally" (2)

"I just want to", said Logan, "someone I want ta check up on"

"Alright, then", said Steve, then smiled, "and here's me thinking you didn't like kids"

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that", said Logan getting out of the truck, glancing over at Steve, "how're you feelin', now?"

"Pain's gone for now", said Steve, then frowned, "no doubt, it'll be back"

Logan sighed, nodding as he and Steve walked into the DP Camp. In the communal room they finally arrived in, the survivors they'd rescued that day from Auschwitz were milling around, a mixture of emotions amongst them. Some laughing, happy for their freedom, some crying, some desperately searching for family they knew, deep down, were gone. Some noticed Steve, cheering him, and calling him over.

"I'll go talk to them", said Steve, "come find me when you're ready to return to base"

Logan nodded, watching Steve go to the grateful crowd, feeling a little twinge of jealousy. He was there too, as were many other soldier who arrived after the initial attack. None of them, however, were a folk hero. He shook his head, smiling softly. Steve deserved it, moral nut he was.

Logan weaved his way through the people, before finally spotting the nine year old boy, sitting on his own, clearly distancing himself from the others. Logan recognised the type. He was a loner, much like himself. He sighed, walking over. When he'd first seen those grenades move, as if pushed by an invisible hand the other direction…seemingly powered by the boy, he'd thought he was seeing things. Now he thought about it more, however, it seemed maybe the kid did do something…he just wanted to make sure.

"Hey", he said.

The kid, what the heck was his name again? Ernie? No. Either way, Logan had clearly took him by surprise, as he spun around, backing himself against the wall, narrowing his eyes, clearly ready for a fight.

"Stay away from me", he warned, his Polish accent thick.

"Whoah, whoah, easy, Son", said Logan, "I'm not gonna hurt you. You remember me, right? I was with Captain America when we got ya out?"

The boy watched him for a moment, before relaxing a little.

"I remember"

"Great", said Logan, "What was yer name again? Got a bit of a dodgy memory"

"Erik", he replied, still guarded, "what do you want?"

Logan chuckled.

"Ya may be a half-starved, scrawny little thing, but ya got moxy"

"Mock-see?", asked Erik, blinking in confusion.

"…..Never mind", sighed Logan, grabbing a clipboard, "have they got all your details yet? The staff around here are useless fer things like that, leave big gaps an' everythin'.."

Erik sighed, looking quietly at the number tattooed on his wrist, the number they'd designated him with for months. Erik Lehnsherr? No, to them, he was 14982. (3)

"Don't worry, that won't be what we'll identify ya with anymore", said Logan, "letsee, Erik Lehnsherr, brown eyes, brown hair.."

"White", cut in Erik.

Logan blinked.

"Pardon?"

"My hair is white", said Erik, "they dyed it brown, they said I shouldn't be an individual when I was nothing but one of the roaches" (4)

"Ya know, it's their charmin' ways that make them so loveable", said Logan dryly, then smiled at him, "You still alone? What do ya say we find your parents?"

Erik frowned, looking out of the window.

_They were being arched along like sheep, every now and again, one of them would be pulled out of the group, set aside. His father had held Erik close, between himself and his sister, a couple of years older than himself. On the other side of his sister walked their mother. His father told them if they stayed close, they might not be pulled apart. His father, who he remembered had a limp, thanks to an old injury made worse by the damp, cold conditions they were kept in, was wrong._

_When they came to the dividing gate, Erik was yanked roughly away by a soldier, his parents being forced along the other way. His mother tried to break free, screaming her sons name, reaching out for him. Erik tried to reach back, but was held back by the guards. Helpless, he watched them close the gates, his family being dragged away in the crowd…being dragged to the building with the huge chimney. The building no one came out of alive. He cried out, reaching out, trying to stop this madness. He was only 9, he couldn't lose his family yet. He** couldn't**._

_It was then the strange thing happened again. The gates that divided himself and group of prisoners being sent to their deaths began to shake. The barbed wire above it twisted and bent. Erik narrowed his eyes, concentrating, if he could force it open..he might have a chance to get them out..The gate rattled harder, the entire wire peeling like a banana. Before it could open any more, however, a guard ran over, giving the youngster a sharp blow to the head, knocking him to the ground. Erik blinked at the bent up gate, and then his family as they were shuffled into the building…then everything went black._ (5)

"My parents are dead", replied the youngster simply.

"Oh…right", Logan shifted uneasily, "sorry"

"It was not your fault", he said, then looked at Logan, "where will we go, after this?"

"I dunno", said Logan, "wherever they'll take ya. Ya might even get lucky and head off ta America, wouldn't that be an adventure, huh?"

"I suppose", he replied quietly, then eyed Logan, suspicious, "why are you really here? Soldiers do not care about refugees, even ones they save. They have their own work to worry about"

Logan smirked.

"Yer as guarded as a long tailed cat in a room fulla rockin' chairs, aren't ya?"

Erik's brow furrowed again.

"You are very strange", he said, "and you did not answer my question"

Logan sighed.

"Okay", he said, "when we were getting' you guys out of Auschwitz, the guards tossed grenades at us. But they floated away…."

Erik frowned, backing away slightly.

"Y…you can't prove I did that"

"So, ya **did** do it", said Logan.

"No I did not"

"Kid, I'm not gonna turn ya in, relax", he said, "I was just curious, there 'aint many of us out there who are..unique"

"Unique?", Erik asked, still unsure, "how?"

Logan pulled out a knife, causing the youngster to flinch away. Logan sighed, before running a line across his own arm with the blade. The cut healed in a seconds.

"How did you do that?", blinked Erik.

"I dunno", said Logan, "how'd you move them grenades?"

"Sometimes it just happens", said Erik, "it doesn't work all the time…and I have to really try hard"

Logan nodded, then pulled out a compass.

"Ya know what this is?"

"I'm nine, not stupid", muttered Erik petulantly, crossing his arms.

"….Right", chuckled Logan, holding it in his open palm out to the youngster, "can ya do what ya did before? With the grenades?"

Erik frowned, looking at Logan distrustfully.

"I'm not goanna hand ya inta anyone, Kid, I promise", he said, "I'm just curious"

Erik watching him for a little while longer, before sighing, narrowing his eyes at the compass. There was a soft metallic humm as it hovered in the air, a little shaky, then the compass needle began to spin, slowly at first, before gathering speed. Erik winced suddenly, the compass dropping back into Logan's open palm.

"I can not do it for long", he said, "it gives me a head ache"

Logan nodded.

"Nice talent", he said, "be one heck of a party trick when the wars over"

He sighed, looking over to where Steve was waving him.

"I gotta go, duty calls an' all that", he said.

"Goodbye, Sir", said Erik.

"The name's Logan", said Logan, "But the troops like ta call me Wolverine….never quite figure out why"

"Perhaps because you look like a small, furry animal?", tried Erik.

"……I know that was a wise-ass remark, but ya've been through hell, so I'm gonna let it slide", said Logan, then handed Erik the compass, "here, take it. Fer luck".

"I ran out of luck years ago", replied Erik, but took the offered object anyway, "thank you"

Logan chuckled, ruffling the kids hair.

"Hard ta imagine this bein' white", he said, "good luck, Squirt. If ya ever go near Canada, give me a call. I might even take ya drinkin' when yer old enough"

Erik gave a slight smile.

"Dziekuje, Logan", he said, "I will repay you for saving me one day" (6)

"Awww, I was just doin' my job, Kid", said Logan, "See ya around. Keep yer nose clean"

With a smile, he walked over to the waiting Steve, who smirked.

"What?"

"Again, I thought you hated kids"

"I don't hate kids", said Logan, "they just annoy me sometimes. An' that ones different, he's got a bad case of Grown-Up-Too-Fast"

"I think most of the children here have that problem", sighed Steve as they walked away.

"I could always keep him", smirked Logan, "He can be my Bucky" (7)

"You want a sidekick?", asked Steve, arching a brow.

"More like a mascot", said Logan, "I can give him a little cape an' everythin'. I could call him Magnet Boy"

"Logan, have I ever told you that you scare me a little when you're sober?"

"Then we'd better do somethin' about that, Pal", smirked Logan, following America's hero out.

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(1) – Yeah, the Evo creators called it a 'POW Camp', which I thought was just plain wrong. Why sugar-coat one of the worst places in the history of the planet just for the kids? What happened to 'learning from history or being doomed to repeat it'? Seesh. It was Auschwitz, plain and simple.

(2) – A DP Camp is a 'Displaced Persons' Camp, where refugees of WWII went, for the most part. I don't think there was one in Poland, but there was never a guy who wore a stars and stripe uniform who went running into Auschwitz, either.

(3) – That is Magneto's ID number. You can see it in X-Men 1. I don't know if they ever showed his number in the comics, I'm going with this one.

(4) – Damn Evo. They knew Magneto's natural hair colour was white, Pietro inherited it, for God's sake! And yet they give him brown hair in Operation Rebirth? Idiots.

(5) – Okay, I so stole that scene from X-Men 1, but added Magsie's sister in it. Incidentally, he did have a sister, she just isn't mentioned a whole lot. She's mentioned so little, in fact, I didn't know he even **had** a sister until I did some research for this fic.

(6) – Dziekuje is Polish for thank you. Pronounced Jehn-koo-yeh

(7) – Bucky, for those not familiar with Marvel mythos, was the name of Captain America's sidekick.

And we're done. That one was in my mind for days, it begged to be written. I'll probably end up referencing the Chronicles to this at some point, 'cause I love it so much. Do review. Thanks for reading.


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